Bite Me
by Tuxedo Stan
Summary: BJ just wants some candy. He ends up with a dead mother, a new friend, and a new reason to hate dolphins. - AU / One Sided OCxAyame the Ramen Girl / Bad Language
1. Oh My My

"BJ, give me my money back."

"Nah, I need it." He threw the coins up in the air and caught them again. "I need some candy."

"Use your own money," his brother growled, and yanked on a piece of BJ's hair.

"Didn't bring any today. I came right here from my mission. 'Sides-" He stopped short when they reached the only vending machines in the hospital, staring at a brunette girl around his age who was standing, waiting for her bag of chips to vend. "I... I was planning on stealing some from you anyway."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah… whatever, I'll go get my snack." He walked up to the candy machine next to the girl, who had started pounding on the glass front. "Having trouble?" He asked, putting in the coins.

"Yeah. The thing won't give me my damn food!" She sighed heavily and kicked it.

"Hold on a sec, I think I can fix it. Nick, get my candy."

"No."

"Shut up and do it."

"I'm your older brother, I don't have to listen to you."

"Don't use that tone with me, Nicky."

"Fine, I'll do it if you promise to never call me that again."

"Oh, of course." BJ grinned at the girl and kneeled down. "Here…" He stuck his arm into the compartment where the food dropped, and then attempted to maneuver it into the window above.

"Doesn't that hurt?"

"Hell no, I'm double jointed." He made a face and started banging on the inside of the glass.

"Double jointed? Awesome." She laughed a little. "So… what's your name, blondie?"

"Bardon Sadame, junior. Also known as BJ, the fourteen year old genius." BJ narrowed his eyes when Nick snorted. "Shut up, Nick. Who're you, random potato chip girl?"

"Ayame, also known as the sixteen year old who cooks ramen for people so she can buy food."

"Oh right, I think I've seen you around the ramen stand before." Nick nodded. "Sorry about your mother. Cancer, right?"

"Yup, but we think she might make a recovery."

"Got it!" BJ cried, and his hand emerged from inside the vending machine, holding the bag of chips. "Here you go, Ayame."

"Thanks, BJ. So what are you doing here?"

"Our mom got hurt on a mission, so we've been hanging out around here a lot since Dad basically refuses to come home," BJ explained, rubbing his arm and trying to get full circulation back to it. "I got hungry, wanted some candy, dragged Nick down here, and found you." He grinned and stood up, towering over her by about six inches.

"You're huge for a kid," she commented. "How tall are you?"

"Five-ten. And excuse me little girl, but I'm not a kid." He made a mock-hurt face, causing Ayame to laugh.

"Well you're a kid to me. Fourteen is pretty young, you still usually have the mind of a kid." Ayame raised an eyebrow at her new friend, and Nick chuckled a little before throwing BJ his candy bar and exiting the room.

"Not me though. I'm kiddish in a lot of ways, but you still have to grow up fast when you're a ninja. I've seen lots of people die, and I've killed people, and I know I could die any day. So there are certain things in life I take very seriously."

"I guess you have a point." She looked at him, seemingly sizing him up for a while before asking, "Do you have a girlfriend?"

He shook his head. "No. I've never really met a girl who I'd consider asking out. What about you?"

"Yeah, I have a boyfriend."

"Oh."

"Yup. His name's Shin. It's only been about two months, but I like him a lot."

"Wonderful."

"Mhm." They both looked around awkwardly and BJ shoved his hands into his pockets. "What rank ninja are you?"

"Chunin. Hopefully ANBU soon, but who knows. I'm not good at strategy, so I could never be a captain."

"But you look like you're pretty strong for your age- shouldn't that matter?" She cocked her head. BJ couldn't help but smile at the idea that the older girl might have been checking him out.

"It does. But if you're gonna be a captain, you've gotta be a leader and a strategist. And I can lead, I guess, but I suck with strategy. My brother and our parents are trying to help me with that- and my little brother too. He's only seven, but he's pretty smart."

"That's cool. Your whole family's made up of ninjas? Mine is all cooks, which is great."

BJ laughed. "That must be great, good food all the time!"

"It is, it is."

They looked at each other for a while before both saying, "I should probably go now."

"What floor?" BJ asked, and followed her outside.

"Second- this one." She chuckled. "You'll have to find your way back alone."

"Eh, whatever." He shrugged. "Fifth floor's not that far."

"Yeah… so will you be coming back for another snack tomorrow?"

"Probably."

"Ten o'clock sound good? I've been so frickin' lonely around here lately."

"Great. My baby brother might have to make an appearance too." He was smiling on the outside, but frowning on the inside, desperately wanting one more hour alone with her. "So Ayame, I believe this is goodbye."

"Only until tomorrow morning."

"True." He turned away from her and walked down the hall to the elevator, where he got inside with a doctor.

"Are you one of the Sadame boys?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah, I'm Bardon junior. Are we famous now?"

"No, but I've seen the three of you around. Is your mother doing better?"

"Much better," BJ lied. "Dad says she'll make it." Well, that part was true. If only he could get himself to believe it.

"That's good."

"Yup." They remained silent until the elevator binged to let them know that they'd reached BJ's floor. He got out and slowly walked down to his mother's room, ignoring all of the doctors, nurses, and people being wheeled around that passed by him. He kept replaying his meeting with Ayame in his head.

"So, we heard about your girlfriend," his father said when he walked in. He was leaning against a wall, cracking his knuckles and chewing a piece of gum.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't lie." Bardon grinned and chuckled. "She's a pretty girl, and she seems nice too."

"You know her?"

"Sometimes she helps out at her parents' ramen stand. And if you didn't hate ramen so much, maybe you two would be married already."

"Where's Nick?"

"Picking up Ricky and don't change the subject."

"He's like you," his mother said softly from her bed. "Mr. change the subject."

"Mom, don't encourage him. We've met once and we're just friendly."

"Do you need me to recite exactly what Nick said?"

"That'd be great."

"He said that you looked at her once, got a boner-"

"Bardon!" BJ's mother scolded her husband.

"Sorry, but that's exactly what he said. And that you ended up showing off your double jointedness, flexed your muscles, and basically asked her to bare your children."

BJ stared at his parents and slowly shook his head with a disappointed look on his face. "And I thought you would be mature about it."

"Why would you expect that from me?" Bardon sat down next to his wife's bed and grabbed her hand. "You get your immature side from me."

"That's true," she agreed. "And you get your… well, you actually didn't seem to get much of my personality at all."

"Nah, I think I'm as stubborn as you," BJ said. "Nick's the one who takes after you majorly personality wise."

"Y'know, if you were a girl, your mom wanted to name you Tomoko. So you get your ego from her too."

"Why, just because she wanted to name her daughter after herself? You ended up naming me after yourself anyway, so you're clearly a hypocrite."

Bardon raised an eyebrow and gave his son a look that said "go fuck yourself."

"That was my idea too," Tomoko laughed. "I don't know why, but I wanted you named after one of us."

"You're an egomaniac, that's why," Bardon teased her, and then kissed the back of her hand. "You and your son both."

"Leave me alone," BJ whined, then started to back out of the room. "I think I'll go find Nick and Ricky."

"Oh come on, spend some time with your mommy and daddy." Bardon made a pouty face, which got a laugh out of BJ.

"I will, I just need to get out of here for a while." He grinned at his parents and said, "For some reason, I don't really like sitting around in the hospital for hours on end." Then he went right back to the elevator and down to the lobby, where he stopped for a drink at the water fountain before heading back into town. '_Where should I go? I wonder if Nick's still waiting for Ricky… guess I may as well go to the academy._'

Just then, BJ felt something wet drop onto his face. He glanced up and let out a curse when he saw that a storm was starting up.

"Damn it." He groaned and dashed towards the ninja academy, not wanting to get soaked or possibly struck by lightning, as the rain suddenly started to come down in buckets. Finally, he made it to the school, and hurried inside where he found his brother and some parents waiting outside the office. "Hey there, Nicky!"

Nick heaved a sigh. "You promised."

"I was talking to an attractive girl and I said many things without thinking. That promise was one of them."

"What're you doing here anyway?"

"I didn't feel like sitting in the hospital. And also so I can beat the crap out of you for spreading rumors about me and Ayame to Mom and Dad."

Nick let out a giggle. "Rumors? Not at all."

"Shut up, I've talked to her once and we're friendly. You know Dad loves to get to me about that kind of stuff!"

"Yeah, because you've denied ever having a crush on a girl and we both know better. Even if you've never liked 'em enough to ask 'em out, you still-"

"How's your boyfriend?" BJ asked, interrupting Nick and making him turn bright red. "How far have you guys gone?

"I- I have no idea who you could possibly be talking about," he sputtered. "Stop changing the subject!"

"See, I don't go around telling Dad about all your little crushes, leave mine alone."

"So you're admitting you like her?"

"We met once!" BJ cried again. "How am I gonna get a crush on her from talking to her once?" One of the parents cleared their throats when BJ's voice got louder.

"Be quiet. And you do like her- and you definitely think she's hot."

"Go make out with Ricky's teacher or something," BJ muttered. Nick ignored him.

"I could see it."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't, now let's change the subject before you get your teeth knocked out." The younger brother crossed his arms, frowning in defeat, and the older brother smiled in satisfaction.

"How did Mom look when you saw her?"

"She actually looked a little better."

"That's good."

After a few minutes of silence, BJ sniggered. "That conversation was pathetic."

"Well not everyone can be a master of subject changing like you, BJ." Nick shook his head and smirked, and the bell finally ran for the end of class.

"Hi guys!" Ricky ran over to Nick and BJ, beaming and bouncing up and down like a little kid who had just been told that they had 100 dollars to spend in a candy store.

"Hey buddy!" BJ ruffled his hair and gave him a high five. "Good day today?"

"Great!" Ricky turned to Nick. "It was report card day!"

"And that's a good thing?" Nick asked. "Even I hated report card day."

"Yeah, I bet you did, you little perfectionist." BJ stuck his tongue out at him before looking back at Ricky. "Judging by how excited you are, I assume you did great."

"Yup!" He yanked a folded up piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to his brother. "Look!"

"Wow," Nick commented, reading over BJ's shoulder. "You did do well. Congratulations, kid."

"First in taijutsu, eh?" BJ raised an eyebrow. "This calls for something special."

"What?"

"I dunno, I think Mom and Dad should decide."

"But I don't wanna wait!"

Nick snorted and patted the top of his baby brother's head. "If we leave now, it'll only take fifteen minutes."

"I don't care!" Ricky folded his arms over his chest and pouted. "I want something now."

BJ rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath, then leaned down, grabbed Ricky by the knees, and carried him outside thrown over his shoulder, Ricky squealing with laughter all the way.


	2. Why Should I?

BJ flipped his water bottle in the air and went to catch it when his father reached out and snatched it away.

"Dad, c'mon!" He whined.

"Gimme a sec." Bardon took a sip, then dramatically twisted the cap back on. "This line is long, and when I'm bored, I get thirsty."

"Holy crap, can I just go back?"

"No way, midget. You're helping me carry this stuff. Your mom wants me to get two pizzas for you and your brothers, and you're gonna carry 'em."

"Stupid."

"Fine then. Do whatever you want. But you don't help, no food for you."

"I don't care. I can get some of my own."

"Not if I say you can't."

"You can't stop me from doing anything."

"Actually, you're still only fourteen. After four years, then you can come back and tell me that." He grinned and ruffled his son's hair roughly, trying not to break into tears. "Till then, I can make you do whatever the hell I want."

BJ looked into Bardon's eyes with a defiant look on his face, but he immediately softened. Although he was an idiot who was generally inconsiderate in regards to other people, BJ was astoundingly close to his parents and could see that his dad was secretly in a lot of pain. For what reason he had no idea, but it was enough to get him to back down. "Alright, I'll do it."

"Fantastic." The line in the hospital food court was moving unusually slow for a place that served mediocre food, which was distressing Bardon even further.

BJ hesitated before saying, "Is… is everything okay?"

"Everything's perfect."

"Don't lie to me. I know you're my dad, but you're also my best friend, and I _hate_ it when you lie to me."

"I'm not, crazy. I'm just annoyed at this goddamn line!" He shouted the last part of the sentence, causing many people to turn around and stare at him. After a long silence, he finally spoke again. "Hey, maybe your girlfriend's here."

"Stop calling her that!" BJ swatted at his father's face, causing the older Bardon to start giggling hysterically. "I've only known her for like two weeks."

"And you loooove her."

"I don't-" He let out a heavy sighed, leaned forward, and spoke softly. "Stop changing the subject. You're hurting. I can tell. Why?"

"Don't worry about it." Bardon cleared his throat and looked up at the ceiling. "Don't worry about it. You shouldn't worry about it."

"Too fucking bad."

"Not here."

"Then let's go."

"No, we still need to get your guys' dinner. Your mom said-"

"It doesn't matter, let's just go."

"No." Bardon's voice became low and hard. "Never, _ever _say that about your mother again."

At that moment, BJ nearly threw up. He stared at his father wide eyed, unable to say anything, finally starting to realize why he was so upset.

"You can go if you want. I'll bring the pizza home for you. Make sure Ricky does his homework."

"Okay." BJ turned and slowly walked out of the hospital cafeteria and wandered up to his favorite vending machine room.

"B- BJ?"

He whipped around and saw Ayame, standing in the doorway with tears streaming down her face. Knowing what was wrong without having to hear her say anything, he immediately rushed to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulder as she started sobbing. "I'm so, _so _sorry," he whispered. "You have no idea." He felt a sadness overcome him, and squeezed Ayame. "Don't worry, everything's gonna get better… it's okay…" He sniffed and for the first time realized just how much he really did like her.

"I can't believe she's gone," She choked out, and gripped BJ's shirt tightly in her fist. "I was really hoping she'd get better… Oh my god, BJ, my mom's dead!"

"I know," he whispered hoarsely. "And I'm really sorry, I wish I could do something." He continued holding her and started to lightly stroke her hair. They remained there in silence for a countless amount of minutes, when Ayame pulled away.

"I should probably go find my dad… he's not-"

"Hey, you don't have to explain anything to me." BJ smiled wistfully down at his suffering friend and wiped the tears off of her face with his thumb. "I get it."

"Thanks," she whispered, and gave him another tight hug, and walked away.

BJ remained in the same spot, staring at his thumb. _'Did she really come to find me so I could comfort her? Before her boyfriend?' _He smiled a little bit to himself, then snapped back to reality. "Ah, crap, gotta get home…"

"What do you mean?" Nick furrowed his eyebrows and shifted on the couch.

"What do you think I fucking mean?" BJ kicked him lightly in the shin. "It was a pretty forward statement."

"Well I don't believe you." Nick shrugged at his silly little brother, reaching forward to grab his glass.

"You're in denial."

Nick balled one hand into a fist, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "BJ, Mom isn't dying, she's getting better. Dad says so."

"You think Dad wants us to worry about her? You think he wants Ricky to know that his mommy will be gone soon?" BJ was tearing up, and as he looked down at his lap, Nick tackled him across the coffee table.

"If you say anything to Ricky that makes him think Mom's dying, I'll kill you."

"Of course I'm not saying anything to him you douche, otherwise I never woulda made him leave so I could talk to you alone." BJ wriggled his arm loose from Ricky's grip and punched him in the face. "Get off of me!"

"Why should I?"

He didn't respond, and just kicked his older brother in the stomach to get him off. "I'm going out."

"No you're not." Nick grabbed the back of BJ's shirt.

"Shut up, I am. You're not the boss of me."

"Yes I am, retard, Dad and Mom aren't here, I'm the oldest, and I'm in charge."

"Don't care. Someone needs me."

They both stopped moving. "Who?"

"Ayame. Her mom died today."

Nick let go and stepped back. "Be back by ten."

BJ just held up his middle finger and walked outside.


End file.
